Everett is the heir to Hengyao Group—a Beta, composed, and never dependent on anyone. His personal bodyguard, Knox, is an Alpha—silent, loyal, always standing half a meter to his left. But Knox keeps crossing invisible lines: releasing pheromones to soothe Everett during a medical exam, shielding him with his own body in a stalled elevator, and even carrying him out of the hospital the day before Everett was scheduled to sign a fertility agreement.
Everett tells himself it's just an employment contract—until he finds Knox's therapy records, where Knox admits: “I fell in love with my employer.” When Silas reappears, when the will is exposed as forged, and when Knox says through red-rimmed eyes that he'll leave—Everett finally admits the truth. He'd long grown used to Knox's constant presence. That half-meter distance was the only closeness he ever allowed. From “don't cross the line” to reaching out first, this employer-bodyguard entanglement finally reaches a point where neither wants to step back.
